February 05, 2013

OneVoice Palestine held a
public meeting in Jenin to discuss the U.N. bid’s and Israeli election’s impact
on Palestinian society.

Over 100 volunteers, citizens, and representatives from the
Palestinian security forces packed Jenin’s City Call on January 23 for a OneVoice Palestine public meeting entitled,
“The U.N. Bid: Reality and Challenges.”

Jenin’s governor, Major General Talal Dweikat, sponsored the
meeting, and OVP’s Jenin chapter organized the discussion. This event is part
of OVP’s public meetings program, which seeks to link Palestinian leadership
with the masses in order to promote confidence between them in cities in the
West Bank and Gaza.

“The public meeting program provides a
fantastic opportunity for the people to connect with the decision
makers in a transparent and direct way,” said Abdallah Hamarsheh,
OVP's youth leadership program director.

Notable speakers included Dr. Mohammed Almasri, director of
the Palestinian Center for Research and Strategic Studies, who stressed the
importance of the peaceful popular actions to end the Israeli occupation and
build the independent Palestinian state. Othman Abu Gharbieh, Fatah movement’s
Central Committee member, served as the event’s keynote speaker, and spoke to
the Palestinian leadership’s take on citizen safety and security, the upcoming
Palestinian elections, and the popular non-violent resistance against the
occupation adopted by the leadership in light of political changes.

The focus, however, was how the U.N. bid and current Israeli
policies create a challenging environment for Palestinian political
aspirations.

Abu Gharbieh demonstrated how the Palestinian leadership
capitalized on the support of the international community while at the U.N. and
how the worldwide support provided an opportunity for the Palestinians and
opened new horizons “we didn’t expect.”

But Gharbieh also stressed the importance to continue the
non-violent popular resistance, but not at the expense of international support.

The reality and the future of the
illegal settlement expansion in the West Bank were also on the agenda. Gharbieh
stressed the importance of the Palestinian struggle under the political changes
in the region and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state where
sovereignty, dignity, and full independence are national demands in the face of
the continued occupation. He used the recent Israeli elections as a frame.

"The numbers in the Israeli elections show a clear
confusion, as it represents the political, social, and economic reality in
Israel," said Gharbieh. "The State of Israel lives in isolation from
the international community caused mainly by the arrogance of the Israeli
leadership and their settlement policies."

Abu Gharbieh also took time to talk about the Palestinian
reconciliation and the need to recover the “people’s spirit,” as he described
it, through national Palestinian elections in Gaza and the West Bank. Abu
Gharbieh also pointed that a Palestinian reconciliation must not be built on
political quotas and should represent a clear image of a Palestinian
international political agenda, avoiding the Palestinians an economic crisis.

When asked if the meeting was a
success, Mohammed Asideh, OVP's field coordinator and senior youth leader, said
he was pleasantly surprised at the meeting’s level of attendance.

"I didn't expect many to
attend, but given the nature of these meetings and the subject at hand, I think
the people of Jenin are clearly interested in investing their time to know more
about the future of the Palestinian independent state and ending the
occupation," Mohammad explained.